Radian Laser Tracker Assists AW Laser in Accurate Measurement of Large Ship Components

Our users
AW Laser is a company registered in South Africa specializing in measurement services, covering various fields of manufacturing, especially in industries such as shipyards, aluminum mills, steel mills, paper mills, and sugar mills. AW Laser covers a wide range of business areas and has strong comprehensiveness. Therefore, it has chosen the API brand Radian Laser Tracker, which is highly integrated, high-precision, extremely portable, and suitable for various on-site environments, as its main measurement equipment. While completing measurement tasks with high quality, it greatly improves overall efficiency.

Affirmation from users
Before using the API Radian laser tracker, the AW Laser team needs to use various tools and traditional measurement methods to plan and process each measurement task separately. Sometimes, when multiple indicators need to be measured in a single task, they need to carry various tools, equipment, fixtures, etc., as well as prepare multiple planning plans. This not only makes the workflow cumbersome, Moreover, due to the excessive involvement of human factors, it is difficult to avoid the occurrence of human errors.

Until the use of the Radian laser tracker, precise measurement of any geometric error can be easily achieved within its working range, simplifying the workflow and ensuring the quality of work more fully, which has been highly praised by the engineers of the AW Laser team.

Dealing with harsh on-site environments
In shipyards, ship Repair is a part of daily business. In shipyards, ships to be repaired are usually pulled directly into the dock for repair without being cleaned, resulting in the invasion of oil sludge and dust in the on-site working environment. The Radian laser tracker selected by AW Laser has a high level of protection, which can effectively avoid the invasion of oil sludge and dust. Even in harsh working environments, it can perform measurement tasks excellently.

Compact and highly integrated, suitable for narrow spaces
When measuring the rudder of a stranded ship, it is necessary to collect and measure data from the lower and upper holes respectively to analyze the degree of alignment. During the measurement, AW Laser engineers flexibly placed the Radian laser tracker in the rudder hole based on its actual position and the compact and highly integrated characteristics. This not only quickly measured the upper and lower holes, but also sent the data to the software for a series of analysis.

Easy alignment of large ship components
In a shipyard, a common measurement task is to align the main diesel engine with the intermediate bearing and then align it with the tail shaft bearing. An important application here is to check the alignment relationship between several holes and the diesel engine. Especially for diesel engine bearings, accuracy is required to be less than 16 μ M.

When using the Radian laser tracker to measure these specific bearings, there is no need to remove these components from the hull and bring them ashore. Simply carry and place the laser tracker in a suitable position around the target to be measured, and the measurement operation can be easily carried out.
Targeted measurement and on-site debugging

In a measurement operation for a ship's rudder, the AW Laser team detected physical damage to the rudder on board, with a misalignment of about 3mm between the upper and lower holes. Based on the measurement data provided by AW Laser, the repair team repaired the physical damage to the ship's rudder. Under the guidance of the installation and adjustment function of the Radian laser tracker, efficient installation of the ship's rudder was achieved in real-time based on the coordinate data provided by the Radian laser tracker, and the offset was rechecked, achieving an accuracy of<0.3mm.

It is worth mentioning that during the entire process of rudder measurement and installation guidance, no additional tooling and fixtures were used to cooperate. Only the Radian laser tracker was used to successfully guide and complete the entire operation process.

Flexible installation, controlling the overall situation
The most challenging task in ship Maintenance measurement is the measurement of the concentricity of diesel engines. Some diesel engines on large ships are two-stroke, and based on their own structure, if measurements need to be made, the laser tracker needs to be placed horizontally (installed at 90 °), so that the top and bottom of the diesel cylinder can be measured transparently.


In addition, when measuring the stuffing box, it is also necessary to install the tracker sideways in order to measure its position relationship with the cylinder in the best posture.

The Radian laser tracker has the characteristic of flexible installation, which can be installed and used vertically, horizontally, upside down, or at any angle according to the actual situation on the job site, fully meeting the needs of flexible installation and use on site when measuring ship components.

Aout API

The American Automatic Precision Engineering Company (API Company) was founded by Dr. Liu Jinchao in 1987 based on independent patented technology, and is headquartered in Rockwell City, Maryland, USA. Since its establishment, API Company has always been committed to the research and development and production of precision measurement instruments and high-performance sensors in the field of mechanical manufacturing. Its products have been widely used in advanced manufacturing fields in the United States and countries around the world, and are in a leading position in high-precision standards for coordinate measurement and machine tool performance testing. API Company has an experienced and capable team of engineers who continuously develop advanced and innovative products to meet the needs of rapidly developing industrial technology. API is an active participant and key technology partner in many projects of the federal government of the United States, enterprises and scientific research. The achievements achieved so far have earned it a high reputation in the field of international precision measurement.